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Funding News
UK Government announces Round 3 of Community Ownership Fund
Part of the UK wide levelling up interventions, the £150 million Community Ownership Fund provides financial support for local communities to take ownership of assets, amenities and facilities at risk of being lost but have value for the local people and place. Ahead of the opening of the third round of applications, the Fund has published an updated prospectus to support potential applicants in making a submission. Capital funding available: Up to £1 million for all asset types, but they expect that most awards will be for up to £250,000 of capital funding. Round 3 window 1 opens 31 May and closes 12 July (23:59).
AIB Group has unveiled its latest €1 Million Fund to support charitable organisations in communities across the UK. The fund builds on its inaugural success from last year which saw it support charities across the UK and Ireland. The bank aims to support over 70 charities this year through the fund. The bank is asking its customers, employees and the wider public in Northern Ireland to nominate registered charities that connect with causes that matter most to them. In the UK the fund will be distributed following an online nomination process, one for customers and one for staff. The UK fund will be split across Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Entries are now open and will close 14 June 2023. Charities that received funding in 2022 cannot be nominated again this year. See the full list of 2022 charities here.
Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund
Amateur athletes and sports clubs across the island of Ireland are invited to apply for the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund, a fund created to help budding athletes get a financial boost to achieve their goals. The fund will run on a quarterly basis, and offer up to € 1,000/£850 sterling, per applicant, per year to help provide financial support for equipment, training, and other necessary resources. Next deadline 1 July 2023.
BW Social Affordable Housing: Community & Sports Funding
As part of the Braidwater Group’s yearly charitable programme and in line with their commitment to support the communities they work in, charities and/or sporting organisations can apply for funding that operate within a three mile proximity of their new development, Glenmona in West Belfast. You can submit your application via email to [email protected] by Friday 2nd June 2023.
The Henry Smith Charity - Holiday Grants for Children
The purpose of the Holiday Grants programme is to provide access to recreational trips or holidays for groups of children who experience disadvantage or who have disabilities. Grants range from £500 to £2,750. Grants are only available to support children who are aged 13 and under. Now accepting applications for trips between 1 July and 30 September. Deadline 18 August 2023.
Upcoming Deadlines
Pilgrim Trust: Young Women's Mental Health Programme
Supporting Young Women’s Mental Health programme to help improve the mental health of women aged 16-25 in the UK, their grants go to organisations that increase young women’s access to high quality, age and gender specific mental health services. Grants of £60,000 to £90,000 spread across three years are available. To be eligible, charities need to be working in Northern Ireland, North East or North West of England or Yorkshire and Humber, have an annual turnover between £100k to 1 million and be a registered charity that has been operating for at least 3 years. Stage 1 of the application process is to book a meeting with their Grants Manager from 15 May to 7 July 2023.
Blackburn Trust
The Blackburn Trust provides small grants for the support of the family, including parenting initiatives and work with women and with children under 12 living in Northern Ireland. The Trust rarely makes grants of more than £1,000.00, a grant is unlikely to be made where the grant would be less than 10% of the total cost of the project. The average amount of grants is £600. Application Forms and Guidelines are available on written request from [email protected]. Deadlines annually are 31 May, 31 October, and 31 January.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund distribute National Lottery grants from £3,000 to over £5million, funding projects that sustain and transform the UK's heritage. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more – heritage can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. Deadline for applications over £250,000 25 May 2023 (noon).
In 2023, they want to fund projects that will help organisations reimagine their support for the workforce (colleagues, volunteers and/or your professional networks). Funded projects might include new staff members or tailored support from freelancers, knowledge- and skills-sharing networks, in-house training, or wellbeing offers for staff and volunteers to boost skills, morale and retention, or some improvements to infrastructure, systems or equipment to enhance hybrid or remote working. Funding is available to formally constituted, not-for-profit organisations including CICs and CIOs, holding collections or committed to increasing public access to visual arts with grants between £10,000 and £50,000. Deadline 26 May 2023.
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council: PCSP Project Support Programme 2023-24
The Lisburn & Castlereagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) Project Support Programme is open to all constituted community groups including Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and Community Police Liaison Committees operating within Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area. Funding supports community projects addressing anti-social behaviour, crime, domestic abuse, confidence in policing, fear of crime, road safety, burglaries, business and retail crime. Grants from £500 to £5,000 will be awarded to successful groups. Deadline 26 May 2023 (1pm).
Fundraising Training
Cost of Living Fundraising Series for May and June – FREE
NICVA's Fundraising Advice is delighted to be able to offer a wide range of FREE training sessions as part of our response to the Cost of Living Crisis throughout May and June. With a wide range of topics and a variety of trainers, you can sign up to any or all of the sessions and enhance your fundraising knowledge. One person per organisations (additional people will be added to the reserves list).
- Developing Corporate Partnerships - 25 May 10am-1pm ONLINE with Denise Cranston, Head of Partnerships Advisory Practice, 2into3
- Introduction to Social Enterprises - COL Fundraising Series Online – 31 May, 12pm-1:30pm ONLINE with Stephen McGarry from Work West
- Meet the Funder: Benefact Trust - 1 June 10am-12pm ONLINE with Andrew Bass, Grants Officer, Benefact Trust
- Developing a Case for Support - 8 June 10am-1pm In-person at NICVA with Jocelyn Horton, Fundraising Advice Officer, NICVA
- A Practical Guide to Completing Funding Applications - 14 June 1pm-4pm ONLINE with Jocelyn Horton, Fundraising Advice Officer, NICVA
Read more about past training events in this series:
On 9th May 2023, Glenn Oakes, Caboodle Fundraising, facilitated two training sessions as part of the Cost of Fundraising series, supported by the Department for Communities. Below is a summary of these two events including a PDF of the slide presentation from each.
- Developing a Fundraising Strategy - summary and presentation
- Building Support from Donors and Volunteer Fundraisers - summary and presentation
Fundraising Clinics – June 2023
These popular, free fundraising advice clinics provide members with an hour-long chance to discuss and address specific fundraising needs and can be delivered online, over the telephone or face-to-face.
You can discuss whatever fundraising issues are most pressing for you and your organisation such as deciding the best way to manage your fundraising, strengthen your appeal to funders and donors, identify potential funders, diversifying your income streams, or even sound out ideas.
In June, there will be three slots available in total on the following dates – 20th, 21st, 27th or 28th June 2023. Find out more and secure your slot here.
These Clinics are part of our response to the Cost of Living Crisis, supported by the Department for Communities.
Fundraising Hub
NICVA Fundraising Advice has a range of articles from contributors supporting fundraising alongside a range of topics. See a few below:
Guest Blogs
Celia Currie, Stakeholder and Policy Manager for Northern Ireland, reflects on the importance of volunteers in fundraising and why it's important for charities to understand what type of fundraising is being carried out.
Guest Blog: The Chartered Institute of Fundraising in Northern Ireland | NICVA
Paul Montgomery, Chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Northern Ireland gives an overview of the work they do and how you can get involved. Plus, Paul invites you to celebrate and recognise the incredible work of local fundraisers in the Northern Ireland Fundraising Awards 2023.
Mark Creaney, from The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF), talks about how the largest community funder across the UK is supporting communities who are seeking to minimise their impact on the environment.
Digital Fundraising
NICVA hosted the #Digitalfundraising series in December 2021, consisting of 6 webinars. This article provides the webinar recordings and resources as well as other resources linked to the topic of digital fundraising. Many of the tips, concerns, and advice are still relevant, so if you are looking to gain insights into developing your digital fundraising from Cancer Focus NI, Concern Worldwide, the Fundraising Regulator, Chartered Institute of Fundraising, ProfileTree, Supported Giving and more visit the link below.
#DigitalFundraising series 2021 resources and webinar recordings | NICVA
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